Tills ring out at Peterborough Queensgate's UNITY store as sales hit £100,000

​Recycling venture Up The Garden Bath is celebrating after sales at its UNITY store in Peterborough hit the £100,000 milestone.

​UNITY is based in the Queensgate Shopping Centre and gives a valuable platform to the owners of scores of small businesses to reach a larger customer market.

Dave Poulton, who founded Up The Garden Bath with Kez Hayes-Palmer, said: “We are very proud we have been able to help these small businesses get to the next level.

“Sales at UNITY have now gone beyond £100,000 in the 16 weeks that we have been operating.”

The shop is located in the former Paperchase outlet on the ground floor and features an array of products and gifts from about 70 small business owners from within a 25 mile radius of Peterborough.

Traders include crafters, artists, makers and start-ups.

Dave said: “We provide an opportunity for small businesses that normally would not be able to trade from Queensgate, to reach a larger audience and find new customers.

“But this has always been about more than just selling products. It is a community shop and there is a real buzz here and we are helping to give traders more confidence and to change people’s lives.”

UNITY began as a pop-up shop in the Queensgate in 2021 and has now been given a year long lease.

Dave said: “Our target is for sales to reach £250,000 by next November.”

Companies are being invited to sponsor the project. While the traders pay a fee for their space, Up The Garden Bath is responsible for the store rent plus business rates of £32,000 a year.